Update:
Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed again to secure the position of Speaker for the ninth time, with the results being similar to those of the previous ballots, The Hill reports.
McCarthy received 201 votes, 20 Republicans voted for another candidate, and one Republican voted present.
All 212 Democrats voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
As a result, the House will need to hold a 10th Speaker ballot for the first time since before the Civil War.
Update:
On Thursday, California Representative Kevin McCarthy faced yet another defeat in his bid to become the next speaker of the House of Representatives, per CNN.
This latest failure in the eighth vote to elect a new speaker has increased the pressure on McCarthy to resolve the ongoing impasse.
The House is now preparing for a ninth vote, the same number of ballots that were required to elect a speaker in 1923, the last time multiple ballots took place.
Representative Kevin McCarthy of California has failed to secure the necessary seventh vote to become Speaker of the House, as several Republicans have continued to vote for Representative Byron Donalds of Florida, according to NBC’s Garrett Haake.
After experiencing six consecutive defeats in two days, McCarthy reportedly agreed to additional demands from conservative dissidents in private on Thursday, per The New York Times.
These measures would significantly decrease the power of the speakership.
According to three sources with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke anonymously due to the ongoing and incomplete nature of the deal, one of these measures would allow any single member of Congress to initiate a vote to remove the speaker from their position.
In order for the Republicans to elect a speaker, the majority of their party must agree on a candidate.
In a full House vote, the winning candidate needs 218 votes, and the Republicans currently hold 222 seats.
McCarthy received a maximum of 203 votes on Tuesday, and his total decreased to 201 on Wednesday.
Several Republicans have supported different candidates, including Jim Jordan on Tuesday and Byron Donalds on Wednesday and Thursday.
These lawmakers do not expect their candidates to win, but they want to express their dissatisfaction with McCarthy.
The Democrats, who are united behind Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, have received the most votes (212) on all six ballots.
However, since the Democrats only hold 212 seats, they are unlikely to win the majority needed for Jeffries to become speaker.
According to House precedent, successive votes will continue until a candidate secures the required majority.
